World's Greatest Dad (Sister)
by SouthernB3lle
Summary: It was Lip that got her the mug. He found the mug at a consignment store a few weeks before school ended and barely had enough money to buy it. Ian was with him when he found it and gave him gave his older brother a weird look when Lip said it was for Fiona.


It was Lip that got her the mug. It was right after Liam was born and Fiona had just dropped out of school to take care of them. Monica had run off again soon after she gave birth, leaving Frank in a deep oxy phase and the younger kids devastated. The house was drowning and Fiona was trying to keep it afloat. Lip knew she was having a hard time even though she tried to hide it from them. She bounced from job to job with Liam on her hip. She came home, cooked, helped Debbie and Carl with homework, stayed up all night with Liam then repeated the process. Lip and Ian tried to help her as much as possible and Fiona allowed it as long as it didn't interfere with school.

Lip found the mug at a consignment store a few weeks before school ended and barely had enough money to buy it. Ian was with him when he found it. When Lip said he was going to get it, Ian gave him a funny look, asking if he was seriously going to get it for Frank. He gave his older brother an even weirder look when Lip said it was for Fiona. Ian figured it was one of Lip's weird smart jokes that only Lip understood and shrugged, helping his brother actually buy the mug instead of stealing it. Debbie wrapped it for him. Well, as much as a six year old can wrap a mug but she was so excited that Lip couldn't tell her no. Especially when her eyes got really big and she pouted. He hid it in his room he shared with Ian and Carl, waiting for the right time to give it to her.

School let out and summer break finally started. The summer was hard on them. Frank was out of his oxy phase and back to his habit of drinking the night away and sleeping the day away. Debbie and Carl struggled with it and didn't understand why their dad didn't want anything to do with them. Fiona, Lip, and Ian did everything they could to make them forget it, being use to Frank's antics and habits. Fiona found a pool and with Kevin's help, the boys put it up and it instantly cheered them up.

Fiona tried desperately to keep food on the table but she was struggling. She found a job at the hotel that let her take Liam with her and the head housekeeper let her take a few toiletries home. It was a big help but it wasn't food. Lip begged her to let him help her but there wasn't much he could do. Most places wouldn't hire a thirteen year old, even the South Side. He had to at least be fifteen. So Lip figured out a way around it. He started doing kids in his class summer school work, priced based on what it was and how long it took him to do. Then the word got around and he started doing high school students summer work. The price drastically increased with that. Fiona hated the idea at first but warmed up to it when he came home with over two hundred dollars in one week. So Fiona started the squirrel fund that would help them get through winter, knowing the winter months would be harder on them. She would put some of the money from her paycheck up and away, not to be touched until winter. Lip added to the fund with his new scam and Ian and the little ones added whenever they could.

On the third Sunday of June, Fiona had the day off and was cooking a big breakfast. Neither Debbie or Carl realized what day it was and Lip wasn't going to remind them but it seemed like a good time to give Fiona the mug. He had it hidden away from almost two months now and was afraid Debbie would spill the beans any day now. While Fiona was cooking and dealing with Liam, Lip went upstairs to get the badly wrapped mug from the hiding spot then came back down and set in front of Fiona.

"What's this?" she asked, eyeing the package. She shifted a screaming Liam to her other hip and placed the spatula down.

Lip took Liam from her so she could open it, bouncing the baby. Ian swerved around Debbie who was waiting patiently for food, to take Liam from Lip and place him in the old, beat up high chair. Fiona turned around and grabbed a bottle out of the fridge, handing it to Lip who passed it to Ian. The assembly line was down pack now and the three worked seamlessly together. Liam stopped crying as soon as the bottle was in his mouth and when they could finally hear themselves think, Fiona looked down and tilted her head at the badly wrapped present.

Debbie squealed, recognizing the package but Ian shushed her before she said anything. She immediately stopped but her smile lit up her whole face.

Lip shrugged and motioned at it, crossing his arms. Fiona rolled her eyes at him and picked up. She shook it a little bit, grinning at Debbie's little gasp before opening it. She threw the paper out and turned the mug around in her hands, revealing the words.

"'World's greatest dad'?" Fiona read.

"But you aren't a dad," Carl said, creasing his eyebrows and giving Fiona a questioning look. "You're our sister."

Lip shrugged again, grabbing a plate of food and set it on the table in front of Carl. "I thought it was funny."

"I don't get it," Carl mumbled, looking at Ian.

Ian grinned at him and stole a piece of bacon off his plate as he continued to feed Liam.

"Eat your breakfast, Carl," Fiona told him, placing the mug down, picking the spatula back up, and went back to cooking.

Lip grinned at his sister's comment and sat down next to Liam to take over feeding him to let Ian eat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fiona glance to make sure they were all eating before setting the spatula back down. She grinned, picking the mug up and placing the mug carefully on the top shelf in the cabinet above the coffee maker, moving it where the words were visible.

Every day after that, Fiona drank out of the mug. She loved the mug and loved that Lip loved her enough to get it for her. Sure, he found it funny and iconic but it meant more to her. It meant she was doing a good job. That these kids were loved and protected and safe. And it made her so happy.

It wasn't until much later did the kids realize what the mug really meant.


End file.
